24 weeks pregnant – a bit of an update

I never had this blog when I was expecting Miss Belle, so I’ve never written any pregnancy update type posts. I don’t want to bore you all with my moans (sorry, I’m just not someone who “glows” and breezes through pregnancy,) so I won’t be doing them weekly. But I thought I’d do a couple along the way, as and when the mood strikes. I was going to write one after our 20 week scan as a sort of half way point, but I ran out of time. So here’s that, plus a month more…

So, here’s the thing about second pregnancies…

It’s true what your friends say. They are harder than the first! Whether that’s because you’re already looking after another child, or because your body is older and has been stretched before. For me, everything that hurt last time, hurts earlier and hurts more.

I vividly remember going Christmas shopping when I started my maternity leave with Miss Belle in early December. I’d be about 36 weeks. I had to sort of waddle and the pressure ached the bottom part of my bump. Well, yeh, I’ve already had that a couple of times already and I’m only just 24 weeks. So, Christmas shopping this year is going to be fun! (Well actually it’s all being done online this year.) I’ve already experienced this when walking to town and back and just this weekend after doing some jobs in the house then going to Tesco for an hour. I don’t know if the baby is lower down or if it’s just my body is already broken.

I’ve also been having round ligament pain again, which I did have last time. It’s about the same and gets me when I’m getting out of bed or the car usually, but I’ve had a couple of days where it’s then carried on and off throughout the day, so I’ve had to take some paracetamol. I’ve tried to keep swimming but actually I’ve noticed it gets worse after that. I really enjoyed swimming when pregnant last time and wanted to carry on as much as I could. Today the pain was more like a sharpish stabbing pain in my groin. A quick google and that sounds more that pelvic girdle pain/SPD, which I had right at the end with Miss Belle. So I think I need to be careful. If it carries on I may get a midwife appointment before my next 28 week one, but we’ll see.

Anyway, enough about the aches and pains… Just remember when you moan and your husband tells you its “easy” to have a baby (I think we were discussing the actual pushing a melon out of your arse feeling at that point) – you have a right to throw whatever you’re holding at him and demand chocolate on tap for the week.

Less attention and way more guilt

The next thing that’s true about second pregnancies is that from the start, they get less attention. Whether that’s from friends and family, or from yourself. When I was pregnant with Miss Belle I used to get a 10 minute bus journey to work. Every day I’d sit there and read my three pregnancy apps (yes I had three!). I’d read about how big the baby was compared to a vegetable and all that stuff. This time, although I get an alert every Monday telling me how many weeks I am, I only have the one app, and it’s only been glanced at a handful of times. I actually feel guilty. Like this poor baby is getting less attention before it’s been born. But when you’re trying to make sure your toddler doesn’t fall and crack their head open on the coffee table, the app just has to wait.

Slightly less anxious

I think I’ve been more relaxed in this pregnancy than last time, which is probably natural. When you’re a first time mum you don’t know what every little tweak and pain is, but this time it’s all a lot more recognisable. I’m now starting to feel some really lovely movements so I’m sort of getting a bit of a pattern of when this baby is active.

But still the worry…

The most stressful part of this pregnancy yet was the 20 week scan. The baby wasn’t in a good position and there was a specific heart check the sonographer couldn’t see. She didn’t want to panic us but she wanted to get someone else to have a look. When I heard the words “I don’t know if I need to refer you yet” I have to admit I started to panic. But then she said she thought it was probably fine, everything else looked ok. But she wanted a fresh pair of eyes to check. She was really nice and really reassuring but I have to admit I had sudden thoughts rush through my head. Mostly, “come on baby, behave!…. No, there can’t be anything wrong…. Shit, what if there is something wrong and we end up having a baby with heart problems who has to have operations…?”

Luckily after 35 minutes, all was well in the end. Even the other lady couldn’t find what she needed, and just as we were about to head out for lunch and come back an hour later, the first sonographer found what she needed. That was a big relief!

Still totally grateful

The best thing by far about this second pregnancy and having a slightly older toddler, is that Miss Belle understands there’s a baby in Mummy’s tummy. She’s cuddled it, said hello, and tried to hear it. She even felt the baby move the other day when she had her head resting on my tummy. It is so lovely. We keep explaining to her what “family” is (not in a gruff Eastenders “faaaaaaamily” kind of way). But we say, “Mummy, Daddy, Isabelle and baby – our family!”. Now when she wakes up every morning she collects three of four teddies and places them on top of her new bookcase in her bedroom and says “aww family.” Priceless.

Tonight I start pregnancy yoga which I’m really looking forward to. I did it last time and loved it. This last week I’ve also dug out my hypnobirthing book and cd and listened to that a few times. I fall asleep instantly when I listen to it, so even if I’m not hearing it all, it’s relaxing me and sending me off to sleep nicely! I highly recommend it and will be writing a post on it very soon.

Congratulations on reaching 24 weeks! I completely agree with you, everything happened sooner for me second time around too in terms of the aches and pains. And I had so much guilt about the lack of attention Max was getting while I was pregnant – I was so sick that we watched so much TV, often in my bed, and we hardly went out. And then more guilt about how much less attention he’d get once his little brother actually came along! But giving them a sibling is far and away the best bit – it sounds like Miss Belle will make an amazing big sister! There really is nothing better than seeing them together. Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove

Being pregnant second time around is so different and a lot harder. There is no lying on the sofa and relaxing when you have a toddler to look after. I would often forget how many weeks I was and had no clue what fruit it was the size of. But that’s ok. I think the only thing that made me sad was when she arrived, not as many friends sent cards and there wasn’t as much fuss. For me it doesn’t matter whether its baby number 1 or 4, a beautiful baby has still been born and should be celebrated. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove

Oh yes 2nd pregnancies are tough going – you can’t just nip off for a nap when you’re tired or have a nice long soak in the bath when you’re aching. And I totally get the thing about the pregnancy app – in our first pregnancy, hubby and I used to read the relevant weekly update page from our free bounty magazine together every monday evening… the second pregnancy, I don’t think I even opened the mag! Haha. But try not to feel guilty – remember that everyone else is the same and it’s okay that you’re in a different stage in life #blogcrush

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Hi, I'm Susie, and I think one of life's great pleasures is fabulous food! I absolutely love to cook and this blog is where I share some of our family favourite recipes, sweet treats and reviews on places to eat. I also write about my favourite places to spend time with my wonderful family, my husband Matt and two children, in beautiful Norfolk. Thanks for visiting!